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Sunday, 19 July 2015

The People You Meet Along The Way...

One of the most exciting things about travelling or moving
somewhere new is the people you meet. Some may be a little strange, some even
creepy, like the boys that wait like vultures for the foreign girls to come to
town so they can offer strong helping
hand because of course, every female with a passport and the desire to
travel is a brainless damsel in distress! But aside from the creeps, dickheads
and weirdos there are some genuinely amazing people from all over the world
waiting to meet you!

Since I’ve been in Lisbon I’ve met so many people from so
many different places that I’ve lost track. But then there are always the ones
that stick with you, like the bubbly landlord who gave me the best welcome ever
on my first day. I’d barley even checked in and before I knew it we out the
door and on our way to an art exhibition, a fresh juice bar and an outdoor book
fair. We talked about the how amazing life, yoga and the universe are and of
course boys... duh! But what was even more amazing is that 2 weeks prior leaving
the UK I’d started to think about how difficult it was going to be and how
lonely I would be in my first few days when I arrived, but as soon as I met my
landlord all those feelings disappeared. We talked about so many things that
without realising it, we were helping each other make sense of our current life
situations, so we decided there and then while chowing down on some sort of
green veg chocolate cake (I swear is was
scrumptious), that we would write a book titled, ‘Everything happens for a
reason’. And just like that a new friendship was born.

Then there’s the lovely enthusiastic Brazilian lady I met at
a language exchange. We agreed to meet one afternoon to practice our language
skills and I am so glad that we did because she reminded me of how excited and
in love with Lisbon I was the first time I visited which helped me to remember
what brought me back. It wasn’t long before I felt like I’d been reconnected
with a long lost friend and again, that was the beginning of a new inspiring
friendship.

When I had my weeks of weakness of feeling homesick I met an
amazing group of people who have no idea how much they cheered me up! From that
group of people I met a lovely free spirited, kite surfing French girl. It had almost
been a month since we’d initially met but randomly one day I was on Facebook
and saw her name pop up, so I took it as a sign and said hi. Little did I know
she was leaving the next day so we spontaneously met up for the afternoon and
as we began talking we realised that we had a lot in common. We talked about
how much we love Lisbon, our travelling experiences and some of the things that
we want from life. And just like that, in one afternoon, I went from being in
limbo about what to do next with my life, to feeling like I had found the next
piece to my puzzle!

And then there’s the 67 year old American lady who is just
dying for me to meet her cat, Squeak! This fiery lady left home at the age of
18, found herself some European loving and hasn’t looked back since.

When we first met, I asked her where she was from, she
replied “now that’s an interesting
question”, to which she gave an interesting answer. I suppose when you’ve
travelled and lived in as many places as she has it can become a bit difficult
to say that you’re from one specific country, town or city, when your life has
been shaped by so many different places.

After sitting next to this lady at an outdoor documentary
movie while she decided to become a personal quirky commentator, mainly
commentating on how shite she thought the documentary was, I knew I liked her.

On the train back into
the city we talked and talked and I realised that this woman has the most
amazing spirit and I loved being around her because she honestly reminds me of
what life is all about! Despite going against what society told her she should
be as an 18 year old girl in the 70’s, she had the ballsto go against the grain and follow her heart which has taken her
on so many memorable adventures.

For me there is nothing like meeting a complete stranger and
discovering you have a connection with them, even if it’s just for a moment or
it lasts an entire lifetime. I live for moments like these because these random
people I meet from all over the world have helped and continue to help shape
the person I am and the person I will become!

Although most of us were raised on a strict ‘Stranger
Danger’ policy, I highly recommend you trust your gut combined with weirdo
raider and get to know a stranger every once in a while, you never know what
will happen.